How to afford to train?

Hi, I have been offered a job as mainline driver from Fratton.
Unfortunately I take a massive pay cut to train. How have other people afforded to train? I have bad credit so a regular loan is out the question?!

CalumTaylor said:

Hi, I have been offered a job as mainline driver from Fratton.
Unfortunately I take a massive pay cut to train. How have other people afforded to train? I have bad credit so a regular loan is out the question?!

Click to expand...

However much you want to do it, if you can't afford to live off the pay for the very lengthy training period, I'd think twice about it if I were you. If it's a case of eating Pot Noodles and not going out for a year, then fine, but if it risks you getting your house repossessed, you don't want this job that much, honestly.

I can only agree with Journeyman.

I’m in a Reserve Pool for a Conductor position and would be taking a pay cut equivalent to £10K a year while training, I’ve worked out how to cut back and make it work if I get a job offer. The difference for me is it’s only for approximately 3 months, if I had to do it for a year it might not be feasible.

Work out what you can cut back on (Sky tv, Netflix, nights out, holidays, maybe take a payment holiday on your mortgage for a couple of months if possible) then try to figure out if it’s doable.

Good luck.

Cheers guys, yeah already looked at cut backs but can only cut back so much with a family. So I think if I can't get a guarantor loan then I will have to leave it. Still got a pretty damn good job as a shunter anyway

CalumTaylor said:

Cheers guys, yeah already looked at cut backs but can only cut back so much with a family. So I think if I can't get a guarantor loan then I will have to leave it. Still got a pretty damn good job as a shunter anyway

Click to expand...

It's unfortunate, because of course your long-term earning potential will be higher, but if you bankrupt yourself before the higher wages kick in, you'll end up being in a worse position for a long time afterwards. I hope you can find a way to make it work, but just don't risk being in a far worse position.

I'm in a relatively well-paid job that I don't particularly like, and I'm keen to do something else. I could afford to drop to a lower wage for a while, but it would wipe out my savings doing so, and it's something I need to be very careful about doing.

Is the mainline driving job with the same TOC as your current Shunter job?

Double check, but if that's the case you may keep your Shunter basic wage if it's more than the Trainee Driver rate. Although, it would be basic, and wouldn't include any enhancements that you get, obviously.

Maybe that will help, if that's the case?

whoosh said:

Is the mainline driving job with the same TOC as your current Shunter job?

Double check, but if that's the case you may keep your Shunter basic wage if it's more than the Trainee Driver rate. Although, it would be basic, and wouldn't include any enhancements that you get, obviously.

Maybe that will help, if that's the case?

Click to expand...

I'm assuming he has voluntarily applied for the job, if so he won't keep the shunter pay but will start on trainee wages from date of appointment to driver grade. If he was being redeployed (previous role scrapped) then he would keep shunter pay until such time that new pay overtakes old.

CalumTaylor said:

Hi, I have been offered a job as mainline driver from Fratton.
Unfortunately I take a massive pay cut to train. How have other people afforded to train? I have bad credit so a regular loan is out the question?!

Click to expand...

PM sent...

CalumTaylor said:

Cheers guys, yeah already looked at cut backs but can only cut back so much with a family. So I think if I can't get a guarantor loan then I will have to leave it. Still got a pretty damn good job as a shunter anyway

Click to expand...

If you've got a mortgage, then you may be able to take some payment holidays or possibly switch it to interest only for a period while training. Not sure, but worth checking out. Doesn't really help much if renting unless you could move to a cheaper area temporarily, probably not ideal with a family.

Don't forget that trainee pay goes up in stages over the year, so not on the basic all year.


Suppose, and this may be seen as controversial, making use of a food bank while training, perhaps with a pledge to donate/repay the amount when you go productive.

It would be a shame to miss this chance.

Worth bearing in mind that although yes, it's a pay cut, it'll gradually increase over the year so it'll reduce the initial gap in pay you've had to take.

I'm sure I've heard of Trainee Drivers having some kind of 'mortgage holiday' whilst training. I'm not sure how this works but if you have a mortgage, it might be worth speaking to your bank and explaining the increase in wage after the training period?
One thing I would say with due respect is to be careful if you have financial issues towards the end of the training period. When you're out route learning, it is largely down to you as an individual to decide when you are ready to sign your routes and go productive, that should never be a decision influenced by a desire to get onto the higher wage, you should only sign routes off when you are 100% confident and conversant with them. The other part of that is once you're out on your own, the temptation could be there to hammer the overtime a bit to cover for any financial shortcomings encountered while on the lower training rate. I have worked with new Drivers who have done this and a couple have been very lucky to keep their jobs after a series of incidents caused by 'overload' and fatigue.
Sorry to put a downer on things but it's just food for thought and a position you don't really want to be in.
Hopefully you have luck with your mortgage provider. The other thing to suggest could even be if you happen to have a relative in a position to lend you some money fit you to pay back after the training period? It seems like such a shame to pass up a great opportunity such as this down to a temporary problem during training.

Good advice from dieseldriver. Don't rush routes, because going productive a couple of weeks early isn't worth it if you've not covered complex shunt areas and maybe missed that GPS which you then end up spadding later on......

whoosh said:

Is the mainline driving job with the same TOC as your current Shunter job?

Double check, but if that's the case you may keep your Shunter basic wage if it's more than the Trainee Driver rate. Although, it would be basic, and wouldn't include any enhancements that you get, obviously.

Maybe that will help, if that's the case?

Click to expand...

Hi, it is with the same TOC but unfortunately since I am not a driver grade already I do not keep my wage. The depot drivers are the only ones that do with us.

Hey guys, thanks for all the input. I definitely won't be rushing anything and will definitely be mulling things over for a bit before anything happens. Lots to consider, cheers

CalumTaylor said:

Hey guys, thanks for all the input. I definitely won't be rushing anything and will definitely be mulling things over for a bit before anything happens. Lots to consider, cheers

Click to expand...

Bit late in the day now I know, but did you consider a Depot Driver position? Not as much money once qualified obviously, but you're still a driver grade, get £39k after training (which is significantly less time than mainline) and could move to mainline more easily, when you're ready?

No positions available right now and for the last position we had 6 internal guys go for it + however many external.
Although there might be 1 in 10 weeks but it's still waiting to see

It depends how much you want it really. When I joined the railway I had to wait 8 years before even commencing my driver training. This on crap pay, with a mortgage and a wife. Yes, times were tough usually but in the end it was worth the aggravation.